Education

•B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University

•M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University

•Ph.D., Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University

Research Areas

Combustion and Propulsion, Energy, Alternative and Surrogate Fuels, Fire Safety, Flame Dynamics, Chemical Kinetics and Mechanism Reduction, Adaptive Simulation of Multi-scale Reactive Flow

Research Profile

Zheng Chen’s research focuses on the fundamental flame dynamics in combustion processes. His group has developed theory on ignition, flame propagation, and extinction of premixed flames. His group has systematically examined different factors affecting the accuracy of laminar flame speed measurement using the expanding spherical flames. He proposed corresponding correction methods which can greatly improve the accuracy even for engine-relevant conditions. His group also investigates flame propagation in autoignitive mixtures, cool flame initiation and propagation, flame acceleration and deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) under engine-relevant conditions, which helps to understand normal and super knock in internal combustion engines. In addition, his group has studied the fundamental combustion properties of fuel blends and developed adaptive algorithms for combustion simulation considering detailed chemistry.

Honors and Awards

• 2019, Young Scholar Award in Science and Technology, the Chinese Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
• 2017, Chung-Hua Wu Outstanding Young Scholar Award, Chinese Society of Engineering Thermophysics
• 2015, Young Investigator Prize, Asian-Pacific Conference on Combustion
• 2013, Excellent Young Researcher, National Natural Science Foundation of China
• 2008, Bernard Lewis Fellowship, International Combustion Institute

Professional Activities

• 2019-present, Board of Directors, Institute for Dynamics of Explosions and Reactive Systems
• 2017-2022, Editorial Board, Combustion and Flame
• 2017- present, Editorial Board, Chinese Journal of Aeronautics
• 2017-2018, Program Co-Chair, The China National Symposium on Combustion
• 2017-2018, Program Co-Chair, China National Young Scholar Conference on Combustion Research
• 2016-2020, Colloquium Co-Chair/Coordinator, Laminar Flames, 36^th~38^th International Symposium on Combustion

Selected Recent Publications

1. Z. Li, X. Gou, Z. Chen*, “Effects of hydrogen addition on non-premixed ignition of iso-octane by hot air in a diffusion layer,” Combustion and Flame, 199 (2019) 292-300. 
2. M. Faghih, H. Li, X. Gou, Z. Chen*, “On laminar premixed flame propagating into autoigniting mixtures under engine-relevant conditions,” Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 37 (2019) 4673-4680.
3. Y. Wang, W. Han, Z. Chen*, “Effects of fuel stratification on ignition kernel development and minimum ignition energy of n-decane/air mixtures,” Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 37 (2019) 1623-1630.
4. Y. Wang, W. Han, R. Deiterding, Z. Chen*, “Effects of disturbance on detonation initiation in H₂/O₂/N₂mixture,” Physical Review Fluids, 3 (2018) 123201.  
5. W. Zhang, M. Faqih, X. Gou, Z. Chen*, “Numerical study on the transient evolution of a premixed cool flame,” Combustion and Flame, 187 (2018) 129-136. 
6. M. Faghih, Z. Chen*, “Two-stage heat release in nitromethane/air flame and its impact on laminar flame speed measurement,” Combustion and Flame, 183 (2017) 157-165.        
7. Z. Chen*, “Effects of radiation on large-scale spherical flame propagation,” Combustion and Flame, 183 (2017) 66-74.
8. Z. Chen*, “Effects of radiation absorption on spherical flame propagation and radiation-induced uncertainty in laminar flame speed measurement,” Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 36 (2017) 1129-1136.